HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Professional players from north Alabama are making an impact throughout baseball. Here's a weekly update on their progress and stats, as well as a different selected former Huntsville Stars' pitcher and player.

Josh Willingham, OF, Minnesota Twins (Mars Hill Bible, University of North Alabama). 6 G, .294, 1 RBI. On disabled list with fracture in his left wrist after being hit by pitch from Cleveland's Justin Masterson on April 6.

Any omissions, please contact mmccarter@al.com

Former Huntsville Stars:

Nelson Cruz, OF, Baltimore Orioles. (Stars 2005). His Tuesday night homer against Toronto was his first against a team other than Boston. (He has 14 homers and 43 RBIs in 48 career games against the Sox.) For the season: 4 HR, 16 RBI, .290 in 18 games.

Congratulations are in order. Boshers and girlfriend Megan Donn are new parents. Megan gave birth to daughter Sadie on April 19. He took a brief paternity leave from his Salt Lake City team to be present for the birth.

This week in north Alabama baseball history:

On April 22, 2006, Bill Hall, Damian Miller, Brady Clark, J.J. Hardy and Prince Fielder all homered in the bottom of the fourth inning at Miller Park against the Cincinnati Reds (four off Brandon Claussen), becoming only the fifth team to hit five homers in one inning. Hall, Hardy and Fielder are all former Huntsville Stars. Among the other teams who had done so: The 1966 Minnesota Twins, against Kansas City. The third homer in the Twins' string was by Huntsville native Don Mincher, the late president of the Huntsville Stars and the Southern League.